July 2016

07/29/2016

Today U.S.C.I.S. published the rule expanding stateside waiver processing to "all statutorily eligible individuals regardless of their immigration visa classification." The final rule is effective August 29, 2016.

This expansion of the provisional waiver process will allow family members of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who are eligible for immigrant visas, to apply for waivers of unlawful presence and the 3 and 10 year bars prior to leaving the U.S. for their consular visa appointments, as U.S. citizen family members have been doing since 2013. Applicants can apply for provisional waivers of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility, based on the extreme hardship their U.S. citizen or LPR spouses or parents would suffer if the waiver were not granted.

A revision to form I-601A will be posted on August 29, 2016.

USCIS also expects to update its Policy Manual to provide guidance on how USCIS makes “extreme hardship” determinations in the coming weeks.

07/25/2016

Texas babies with undocumented parents will now be issued birth certificates. Last year Texas stopped issuing birth certificates to parents who had only an ID issued by another country or a passport without a valid visa. Thanks to the Texas Civil Rights Project and Rio Grande Legal Aid for their good work in righting this wrong.

From The Texas Civil Rights Project:

The State of Texas has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by dozens of immigrant families and the community organizing union, La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), challenging the State’s refusal to issue birth certificates to babies born in Texas to undocumented mothers. In a big win for immigrant families, Texas will adjust its rules to ensure that all Texas-born babies can receive the birth certificates they are legally owed.

Without birth certificates, our clients lived in constant fear of having their families torn apart and their American-born children deported. They also struggled to get access to basic education, health, religious and childcare services. The settlement will be life-changing for them.

With co-counsel at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, we filed suit last year after Texas began refusing to accept the two forms of IDs most commonly used by undocumented immigrants to obtain birth certificates for children born in the state. We argued that these changes were politically motivated, and effectively shut out undocumented mothers, leaving most of them unable to prove the citizenship of their American-born babies.

Under the terms of the settlement, Texas will accept several IDs that are commonly available to undocumented immigrants living in Texas. Officials also agreed to undertake significant efforts to train local registrars on the new rules. In addition, the State will run a hotline so that anyone who is wrongly turned away by local registrars can get help.